Monday Mornings With Zachary

Zach tried boogie boarding (or "belly boarding", as Colson calls it) this past weekend for the first time. He was in heaven. Here are some clips.

Ava's Fashions

This was (and still is) one of my favorite casual looks for Ava. The denim mini over black cropped leggings always works on her thin, long body. Of course, black cropped leggings must ALWAYS be paired with black ballet flats, no socks. Gives an Audrey Hepburn effect that never goes out of style.

I paired this denim mini/black leggings combo with many tops, but I always loved it with this simple Old Navy peasant top that had a sort of artist smock feel. And this look always went with straight hair, never curled.

Strap 'Em In

Ah, the days of having two baby car seats in the car. With these two car seats and the double stroller, finding extra room in our cars was never easy. The hardest part of having Irish twins was definitely the amount of equipment needed.

By The Sea

Today we're headed to the Jersey shore for our last family trip of the summer (come to think of it, it's also our first family trip of this summer) before school starts on Monday.

We're going to Stone Harbor. Brianne and Joe will be at their condo in Stone Harbor this weekend also, so we're planning on doing the beach and various Cape May activities with them. Bethany will also be at the Jersey shore this weekend, in Avalon, so we'll get to see her as well.

While I absolutely hate Jersey beaches, there's something about the Jersey shore that you have to experience at least once per summer. It has a feeling unlike any other you'll find in the world. The Jersey shore is an extremely specific genre, and you can't miss out on experiencing it.

No, It's Not About Which Couple Can Run Up The Hill Fastest

Today we'll tackle Jack and Jill competition.

At country events, as well as swing events, you will find "Jack and Jill" competitions. A Jack and Jill competition is a social dance competition.

What is social dancing? Social dancing is just what it sounds like; dancing in a social setting, as opposed to a competitive setting. Social dancing is lead and follow, non-choreographed dancing. When you are at a club or a dance, a song comes on and someone asks you to waltz and you agree, that is social dancing. You don't know what patterns the leader is going to do, so you are just following. You may never have danced to that particular song before, or with that particular partner. You are now social dancing.

When social dancing, you have opportunities that you don't have when competing with choreographed routines. You can make things up in the moment, to interpret the music you happen to be dancing to.

Think of it as the difference between acting in a play where you have memorized a script and have to stick to it, and doing Improv. Competition dancing with choreographed routines is acting with a script, social dancing is improv.

In a Jack and Jill competition, dancers enter as either leaders or followers. They also enter into a skill level, usually Novice, Intermediate or Advanced/Professional. At swing events, they usually also have an "Invitational Jack and Jill", in which, obviously, you have to be invited to participate. These are usually the professionals, who know how to make an entertaining show out of the competition. In Invitational Jack and Jills each couple dances by themselves, while in the lower divisions all couples are on the floor at the same time.

Jack and Jill competitions are set up in a few different ways. Sometimes the followers' names/numbers are put into a hat, and the leaders reach in and choose a partner. Sometimes the leaders line up on the floor, the followers line up in front of them, and an audience member chooses a number and the followers rotate that many partners. Whoever the follower ends up in front of is who they will be dancing with.

Once the leaders and followers are partnered up, the competition begins. Each couple finds a spot on the floor, and the DJ plays a song. Usually you are given 2 or 3 songs to dance to, with a break in between to find a new location on the dance floor. The DJ will typically play a few different styles of music; for instance, if it's a West Coast Swing Jack and Jill he might play one bluesy song, one contemporary song, and one jazz song.

The way the scoring works depends on how many couples there are. If there are a large number, usually the first round is judged individually. After the first round, the judges will call back a certain number of leaders and a certain number of followers for the final round. In the final round, you are judged as a couple.

If you are judged individually, the judges are looking for a variety of things. Most importantly, they're looking at how good of a leader/follower you are, and if you can adapt quickly to the lead or follow of your partner. They are also looking for musicality, watching to see if you can adapt to the different styles of music, and looking for stylistic interpretation of the music.

When you are judged as a couple, those same judging criteria apply. But they're also looking for chemistry between the couple. Being able to connect with your partner on some level and express that connection externally is essential in Jack and Jill competition.

Judges will award the top 3 or 5 placements, and those couples are usually awarded a cash prize. If it is a west coast swing Jack and Jill, and the event is WSDC certified, you also earn points towards ascension in skill level.

Main thing to remember when watching a Jack and Jill, the dancers don't know who they will be dancing with, or what song they will be dancing to. Obviously knowing music helps a bunch in a Jack and Jill. Knowing actual songs is great, but even if you've never heard the particular song, having a sense of what music normally "does" will help.

I have been competing in west coast swing Jack and Jills this year, originally because I wanted to brush up on my west coast skills. It used to be one of my best dances, but for the past few years I've focused so much on my fast dances that I was starting to feel like my west coast style wasn't current enough. I love Jack and Jill competitions, as I can really immerse myself in the music when social dancing.

I had never done WSDC sanctioned Jack and Jills before, so I was able to start in Novice, even though I compete in a professional level in the UCWDC. When competing in the WSDC, you must accumulate a certain number of points before moving up a skill level.

A lot of dancers who don't have partners to compete with use Jack and Jill competition to keep their skills honed, or to find a partner.

That's my Jack and Jill explanation.

Fake Cheekbones

I've talked about the makeup tutorials by JulieG before. Here is another one that shows how to use bronzer to contour your face. I've always been slightly afraid of bronzer, but after watching this I may try it myself at the next dance competition.

Here's the tutorial.

Feeeeelings, Whoa Whoa Whoa....

Riding in the car the other day Colson said this:

"Mom, did you ever have that feeling when you're looking at a sign, and even though the car isn't moving, the sign looks like it's getting further away? I have that feeling sometimes. I think that feeling means that you're growing...."

Monday Mornings With Zachary

This was taped at night when Zach should have been sleeping. Instead he was up trying to figure out what happened to all the dinosaurs.

Did You Ever Know That It's My Birthday??

Happy birthday to my third little accident. After Colson and Ava, I guess God knew I needed some levity and excitement. Thanks for 4 years of non-stop laughs.





(Ava's fashions will return next Sunday)

Water Torture

For the first 3-4 months of her life, Ava hated taking a bath. She was so scared that she'd scream like someone was stabbing her repeatedly in the gut. I remember my mother calling once in the middle of Ava's bath, and Mom saying "What are you DOING to that baby???". At times I was nervous that Ava would give herself a heart attack from her fear. She could never relax her body or her mind. I became an expert at giving a baby a 30 second bath.

What Is Pro-Am?

Today is Day One of dance competition explanation. I will start out with "Pro-Am" divisions, and have included links to video clips of country pro-am divisions.

All partner dance genres (ballroom, latin, country, swing, etc.) offer pro-am divisions. Pro-Am stands for professional-amateur. In these divisions, amateurs dance with professionals and compete against other amateurs.

Pro-Am divisions are for amateurs who are unable to find a partner to compete in the couples divisions with, or for amateurs who want to improve their personal dance skills.

I have two male students who compete in the pro-am divisions with me. One of them also competes in a couples division with his wife, the other only competes in pro-am. They work with me throughout the year, and travel to competitions to compete with me.

Pro-Am divisions are separated by gender, age and skill level. For instance, one of my students competes in Male Diamond (40-49 yrs. old) Novice, the other in Male Silver (50-59 yrs. old) Newcomer. Some ams compete in more than one age division; you are allowed to dance below your age, but not above your age. So if you are 45 but think you can compete against the young folks, you may compete in the Silver division as well as the Open division. ("Open" is the division for all adults, ages 18+.)

The amateurs are judged personally, as well as against the other amateurs in their division. They are awarded a medal placement (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Gold w/Honors, Gold Graduate) in each dance, as well as a numeric placement.

In country competition, there are 8 dances to choose from. You may dance all 8, or you can pick and choose. In order to qualify for an overall placement, you must dance at least 5 dances. Also in country, if you want to dance at the World Championships, you must compete in at least 3 events throughout the year.

Top teacher awards are given at most events, usually to the pros with the most ams and/or with the ams who place the highest at the event. Having a student who places high at events is the best advertisement for a pro, so most pros take Pro-Am competition very seriously.

So that's my quick tutorial on Pro-Am divisions. Any questions?

We'll tackle Jack and Jills next time.

Synchronized Kayaking Next?

Now this is just bizarre...I want to see Lugers do this.

They Should Let Him Try A Real Car

Check out this kid parallel parking his toy car. Obviously an "SP' type.

Watch Out, Methuselah!

Monday Mornings With Zachary

Zach tells us what God looks like (actually, he tells us what God told him that he looks like). When Zach is whispering during his prayer, he is saying "God, what do you look like?", in case you can't hear it. He also shares his philosophy on winning versus losing.

Ava's Fashions

As I look through old pictures, I always come upon outfits of Ava's that I miss. Kids grow so fast that their cute outfits are only seen for one season. I am going to start sharing some of my favorite Ava fashion moments so that they can be appreciated again.



This one was a definite favorite, Children's Place skinny jeans with floral appliques and flat equestrian boots (I think they were Gymboree, I got them off ebay). Paired with a simple Old Navy cream peasant blouse and corkscrew curls, you have a definite fashion "do".

You Know I'm Funny

Zachary can always make Ava laugh, even when he's spent the whole day irritating her.

Dancing Queen

Today I'm off to Boston for a dance competition, the New England Dance Festival. I'll be dancing Pro-Am with my student Paul on Saturday morning, in the Silver Novice division, then I'll be dancing West Coast Swing Jack and Jills on Saturday night, and finally Richard and I will be competing in Division 1 on Sunday.

Starting next week I plan on educating you folks on competitive dance terminology, since I know most of you have no idea what in the Sam Hill I'm talking about.

He's Baaaaaaaaaack!

Eric's home!

It's Not Disobeying, It's Pretending!

Have I mentioned that Zachary is a master at mind control?

My parents were here this past Monday night, watching my kids while I went to rehearse. When my mother put Zachary to bed, he tried to convince her to let him sleep in Ava's room. Mom knew that wasn't something I normally let him do, so she said no. He asked her a few different times, but she didn't give in. Then he said "Mom lets me sleep in her bed all the time". Well, Mom knew that wasn't true, but she was so tired of him at that point that she let him sleep in my bed. After all, Grammas are allowed to do those sorts of things.

Last night, I had our new babysitter coming over to sit with Zach while Cole and Ava did evening VBS and I taught a dance lesson. She's a sweet introverted homeschooler, and I knew she'd be no match for Zach. So before she came I prepped Zach.

"Zachary, when Sarah tells you it's time for bed, you can NOT tell her that you're allowed to sleep in Mommy's room!". He said okay, with a grin.

I then mentioned to Sarah when she arrived that Zach might try to manipulate her about the sleeping arrangements.

When I got home I asked her how the evening had gone. She said it went fine, but Zach did try to mess with her mind. When she said it was time for bed Zach said, "Okay! Now Sarah, let's pretend that Ava's room is my room, and my room is Ava's room!"

She said he did it so quickly and casually that she almost fell for it.

Love Made Clifford Grow So Big

Ava has always loved her stuffed Clifford. Yesterday she drew a portrait of him.

Emily Elizabeth would be proud.

Monday Mornings With Zachary

Today Zach answers some random questions from a list that I found on the web.

Bible Study Methods, 8.06.09

Bible Study Methods part 1, by Bob Lewis, is now available for download here. Let me know if you have any trouble downloading this. I will be using this method to deliver Dad's videos from now on. In the future, if you'd like a copy of any video that has expired from the file share site, just send me an email and I'll upload that video again for you.

This is the first class in a series designed to teach you how to study the Bible. I apologize for the poor lighting, I couldn't find a great spot to video from. I'll also try to work on better video quality for next time.

My battery died at one hour. There was about 20-30 minutes more after that point. The homework assignment was given out after the battery died. So if you're in need of the homework assignment, send me an email and I'll get it to you.

Boo!

Cole's first Halloween. I can't decide who is cuter...

MST3000

My brother Andrew sent me a link to a bunch of old MST3000 episodes on YouTube. Remember Mystery Science Theater 3000? Such a great show...A guy and two robots sit in a theater watching old sci-fi flicks, making sarcastic comments about what's going on. I think Andrew and I gravitated towards the show because, well, it was a show about what we did (d0) in real life.

Here they are.

He Also Knows I Can Fly

I had this exchange with Zachary yesterday:


Me: Zach, are you excited about Pop coming tomorrow? Are you going to take him to the pool and show him how you can swim? He doesn't know that you know how to swim, you know...


Zach: Mom, he knows IN HIS IMAGINATION that I can swim.

2:27 Minutes Of Fame

Check out my brother ELew on CBS Evening News, operating the projector at John Young's Guerilla Drive-In.

Here's the video clip.

Why Does The Steering Wheel Stink?

Wow, guess she can't ever wear shoes...

A Homeless Man Walks Into A Bar....

I might consider giving money to a homeless person if they'd entertain me. Most homeless people just sit there with a sign and a morose look on their face. That does nothing for me. That actually makes it even easier for me to just walk on by.

But if there was a homeless person doing a little soft shoe, or playing the spoons, or doing a bit of stand-up, I'd have a harder time just walking by. I might even stop and watch. I'd probably chuckle a bit. And I just might reach into my pocket and grab some change.

So homeless people, take note. To make more money, why not actually DO something? I know you've all got hidden talents, be inventive and use them in your panhandling!

Don't Be Tardy For The Party!

The Real Housewives Of Atlanta are back. You know you love 'em...Nene...Sheree...Kim. Those nutbags are always good for a huge laugh. (They could totally hold their own in an insult match with Henry Louis Gates, Jr, too.)

In case you missed the season 2 premiere, here it is.

You Had To Ask

My mom and I drove to West Chester last night to pick up Colson. While we were there, we had dinner with my niece Brooke, who happened to be in town on her way back to Manassas, and my brother Eric.

It was fairly late for the kids, and they were all starting to get a bit tired. Towards the end of dinner, Zachary asked me if we could go home. Brooke looked at him and asked, "What are you going to do when you get home?"

Zach looked up at her, rolled his eyes and said, "NOT see any of you!"